Two more men have been arrested in connection with a deadly blast which killed five people – bringing the total in police custody to five.

The men, both in their 30s and from East Anglia, were arrested on Friday and will be questioned by detectives, Leicestershire Police said.

The force said the two new suspects were detained on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion and for offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Emergency personnel at the scene (Joe Giddens/PA)

The men join three others who were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter on Wednesday and they continue to be questioned by police.

The incident on Hinckley Road, which demolished a supermarket and the two-storey flat above, follows the explosion in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 2011 which killed five Lithuanian men and was caused by an illegal vodka factory.

Leicestershire Police refused to comment on other media reports which have said the explosion may have been caused by an illegal alcohol distillery.

Detectives had recently appealed for witnesses to come forward in order to establish how the explosion happened on Sunday, shortly after 7pm.

Human remains were recovered from the ruins of the building after the blast which was followed by a large fire.

Brothers Sean Rajoobeer, 17, (left) and Shane Rajoobeer,18, victims of the Hinckley Road explosion in Leicester, and and their mother Mary, also believed to have died in the blast (Leicestershire Police/PA)

The total number of people in custody has now risen to five, with the two men joining three others from the East Midlands, East Anglia and the North West.

The force formally identified four of the people killed in the blast as Shane, 18, and Sean Rajoobeer, 17, Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane’s girlfriend, and Viktorija Ljevleva, 22, with the fifth victim believed to be Shane and Sean’s 46-year-old mother, Mary.

Specialist officers continue to sift through the wreckage in search of clues, with the scene expected to remain cordoned off for several days at least.